Chapter 518: The Canglan Sect Elders Have All Broken Down

Li family guest courtyard.

Lin Chen stared at the Wu Dao Seal in his hand, his expression shifting uncertainly.

Tomorrow marked the start of the Alchemy Competition finals, and with his current alchemy skills, he couldn’t guarantee first place.

Jiang Yaoyan, Jiang Chen, and Wei Yang all had high alchemy proficiency, and since he himself was holding back, those three likely were too.

The 【Seize Every Moment】 prompt offered him a rare opportunity—miss this, and he might never again get the chance to comprehend the Nine Revolutions Azure Spirit Scripture.

The only thing left that could boost his alchemy skills right now was the Sky-Piercing Tower.

According to Yin Yue, the Sky-Piercing Tower’s rewards were granted by the Divine Seal, tailored to the challenger’s progress; if his understanding of fate was correct, this meant the rewards considered not just the challenger’s martial cultivation, but also the challenges he faced within the Yan Emperor Court.

But Lin Chen knew better: if he challenged the Sky-Piercing Tower now, it would ignite a massive uproar in the Yan Emperor Court.

His realm within Mount Wu Dao couldn’t be hidden—his entry into the Threefold Primordial Realm would be announced to all via the Wu Dao Seal.

The shock of ascending from Threefold Primordial Level Two to Three in such a short time was unimaginable.

And during the hour he waited for the Sky-Piercing Tower to appear, challengers would surely swarm him—many would assume he had just entered Threefold Primordial, yet by then, his peak Threefold Primordial strength would be impossible to conceal.

Entering the Threefold Primordial Realm and reaching its peak were two entirely different things.

The former would shock and enrage peers, and surprise some elders.

But the latter would make people suspect he harbored some secret, enabling such rapid cultivation.

Even his status as a direct disciple of Canglan Sect might not deter powerful figures from probing and coveting him.

…

“This opportunity must not be missed!”

Lin Chen’s eyes hardened with resolve—he made his decision.

Just as he had in Poyang County, facing every examination, the County Duel, and the Model Contest, he never gave up, always pushing his strength to the limit before each contest.

If he had ever slackened back then, thinking he could wait for the next round, one missed chance would lead to endless setbacks—he might not even have stepped out of Canglan Island, let alone become a Primordial cultivator standing here today.

“I challenge the Sky-Piercing Tower!”

Three breaths later, Lin Chen gripped the Wu Dao Seal and whispered.

BOOM!

A glow shot from the Wu Dao Seal, striking Lin Chen—his disguised appearance instantly reverted to his true face, and the next moment, his figure vanished into the light, leaving only the Wu Dao Seal hovering in midair.

“Definitely a young pup.”

As Lin Chen vanished, a young man appeared in the courtyard, yet the guest courtyard’s formation showed no disturbance.

“Challenging the Sky-Piercing Tower—must be someone who once topped Mount Wu Dao.”

The young man smiled; topping Mount Wu Dao meant nothing to him—he had been first himself.

Among the Yan Emperor Court’s Myriad Phase cultivators, aside from rare exceptions, all were thickly accumulated and suddenly unleashed; most crushed their peers relentlessly, making Mount Wu Dao’s top rank the least noteworthy.

“Challenging the Sky-Piercing Tower? Let me see how many levels you can clear.”

The young man sat down at the table on his own, flicked his right hand—and a bottle of wine appeared before him.

…

…

Qianji Sect.

Zeng Xi entered the sect’s resource hall to collect his direct disciple cultivation resources, but no sooner had he stepped into the hall than he heard several senior disciples inside exclaiming in shock.

“How is this possible?”

“It can’t be the same person—but then again, his realm should match mine. If he were Mount Wu Dao’s top, I’d know him.”

Zeng Xi watched as many senior disciples inside the hall wore strange expressions, shouting loudly despite their status—he frowned in confusion.

“Li junior, what’s causing such a commotion?”

The middle-aged man responsible for maintaining order spoke; one of the shocked men immediately explained: “Senior Wang, we didn’t mean to cause a disturbance—it’s just that a message just came from Mount Wu Dao: someone’s challenged the Tower.”

“Challenged the Sky-Piercing Tower?”

Zeng Xi wasn’t overly excited upon hearing this—he’d stowed away his Wu Dao Seal recently to focus entirely on cultivating the Divine Control Scripture, and planned to begin his seclusion after the Alchemy Competition ended.

“Even if someone challenged the Sky-Piercing Tower, you shouldn’t be this agitated—could the challenger have a special identity?”

Senior Wang seized the key point; the Li junior nodded: “It’s shocking indeed—because the challenger is Lin Chen.”

Lin Chen?

Upon hearing the name, Zeng Xi’s pupils contracted sharply—Lin Chen had just broken into Threefold Primordial Level Two when he fought Sima Kong; less than a year later, he probably hadn’t even reached Level Two’s peak—why challenge the Tower now and invite others to snatch his qualification?

Though he and Lin Chen had become friends through combat, Zeng Xi still doubted Lin Chen could reach Level Two’s peak so quickly—this was the Primordial Realm, not the Nine Ranks; even elite disciples like them needed years to break through one level, and that was only before the Threefold Primordial Realm—the higher the realm, the longer the wait.

“The Lin Chen from Canglan Sect?” Senior Wang asked.

“Not certain.”

“Not certain?”

Hearing this, Zeng Xi couldn’t help interjecting: “Senior Li, why aren’t you certain it’s the Canglan Sect’s Lin Chen? In the past hundred years, there’s only been one Lin Chen who topped Mount Wu Dao.”

Zeng Xi was certain: in the past century, no one else with the name Lin Chen had ever topped Mount Wu Dao.

“Zeng junior, you’ve interacted with Lin Chen—do you think he can reach Threefold Primordial Realm?”

The Li junior looked at Zeng Xi with a strange expression; Zeng Xi frowned: “Senior Li, don’t joke with me—Lin Chen is Mount Wu Dao’s top, his martial talent speaks for itself—how could he fail to reach Threefold Primordial?”

The top of Mount Wu Dao could at least reach Fivefold Primordial; most reached Sixfold Primordial; a few even entered Myriad Phase.

“Then, right now, do you think Lin Chen has broken into Threefold Primordial?”

“Lin Chen has already reached Threefold Primordial!”

Zeng Xi’s voice rose sharply—he was certain no other Lin Chen had topped Mount Wu Dao in the past hundred years, yet the reactions of the Li junior and the others couldn’t be faked, and the implication in the Li junior’s words was unmistakable.

…

In the Eastern Sea, Hu Yunhua stared at the Wu Dao Seal’s message, his heart surging.

When Lin Chen returned to the Eastern Sea, he was only at Threefold Primordial Level Two—how short a time has passed, and now he’s entered Threefold Primordial?

He’d cultivated for decades, only to be surpassed by Lin Chen in less than two years?

Is he treating Sixfold Primordial like a Ninth Rank?

After more than a dozen breaths, Hu Yunhua calmed himself and told his steward: “Send a formal invitation to the Canglan Embassy—no, I’ll go myself. They probably haven’t heard yet—I’ll deliver the good news personally.”

Only Primordial-level cultivators could receive the Sky-Piercing Tower’s challenge notification.

The imperial court designed it this way—to separate the Sky-Piercing Tower from Mount Wu Dao, so young warriors not yet ranked could focus solely on climbing Mount Wu Dao’s rankings.